Woman found murdered in South Goa, two held

Panaji, Jun 8: A 30-year-old woman was allegedly murdered in Sanguem taluka of South Goa and two persons were arrested in this connection, police said on Saturday.

The body of the victim, Valancia Fernandes, was recovered from a forest area of a village on Friday morning and the two accused- Shailesh Velip (25) and another person- were arrested hours later, police said.

According to police, Velip killed the woman as she was asking him to repay the money he owed to her.

"The woman's corpse was found in the forest area of Rivona village in South Goa Friday morning, around 50 kms away from Margao town," Superintendent of Police (South) Arvind Gawas said.

After the preliminary investigation, police zeroed in on her friend Velip, who was last seen with her on Thursday, he said.

"Forensic examination confirmed that she was strangulated to death," Gawas said, adding that Velip was arrested on Friday night.

"During his interrogation, Velip confessed to his crime and also revealed the involvement of another man, who was immediately arrested," the SP said.

According to the officer, Velip had taken Fernandes to his house at Molcornem village in Sanguem taluka on Thursday, and killed her as he owed her a huge sum of money, which she was asking him to repay.

After strangulating her to death, the accused, along with his accomplice, transported her body and dumped it in the forest area near Rivona village, he said.